Emissions Testing:

There has been some wailing and gnashing of teeth among motorists and grumbling among mechanics now that New York, in compliance with Federal standards, has launched a more stringent emissions test for passenger vehicles in the metropolitan area, including all of Long Island.

By next November, the new test, which is being phased in, will require that vehicles be placed on a dynamometer, a treadmill-like device that can measure all emissions more accurately as well as nitrous oxide, a pollutant that is given off only when a vehicle is moving.

By all accounts, the new emissions test will be much harder to pass; the Federal Government has estimated that 20 to 30 percent of all vehicles now on the road will fail.

Many drivers are upset because they will be required to pay $35 for an inspection, up from $19 last year, and face the very real prospect of costly repair bills to keep their cars on the road.

Although mechanics might be perfectly willing to collect the higher fee and accept the repair jobs that will surely follow, they are unhappy about having to spend over $40,000 on the equipment required for the new test.

Like it or not, it is time to do something about the air pollution that is choking our cities, and, as scientists now tend to agree, contributing to the global warming that poses a real long-term threat to our ability to survive.

There is one caveat. The new test would appear to place a heavier burden on those of the working poor who have to rely on old cars to get them to and from work.

While it is true the new test will provide some leeway for older cars that cannot possibly meet today's standards, the bar is too high. If their cars fail, owners will be required to spend up to $450 on emissions-related repairs to qualify for a one-year waiver from the new standard.

One solution would be a longer phase-in period, perhaps up to three years, for older cars. The extra time would give low-income motorists time to upgrade their mode of transportation while insuring that their old jalopies, which often border on unsafe, will be off the road in a timely fashion.